The long-awaited A.J. Brown-to-the-Patriots trade became official on Monday, as the Eagles sent the 28-year-old wide receiver to New England in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. The move reunites Brown with coach Mike Vrabel and gives quarterback Drake Maye a tried-and-true No. 1 wide receiver, while also ridding Philadelphia of a polarizing player who was seemingly unhappy with his role in the team’s offense over the past several seasons.
While the Brown-to-New England deal has long been in the making, the two sides waited until after June 1 to finalize the move due to salary cap implications. If the Eagles had traded Brown before June 1, they would have carried his entire $43 million dead-cap hit in 2026 while also adding roughly $20 million to their active cap. Now, however, they can split the dead-cap hit, with just $16.4 million accelerating onto their 2026 books and the remaining $27.1 million being pushed to ’27. It also saves them $7 million on the active cap this season.
